Infectious Disease
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York
Study conducted by museum exhibition evaluator Ellen Giusti
1996

Purpose: To examine visitors' knowledge of, interests in, and needs related to infectious diseases in preparation for a future exhibition

Methods: Survey

Findings: Visitors get most of their information on infectious disease from newspapers, followed by TV and magazines. Visitors had little information on the causes (bacteria, virus, protozoa) and modes of transmission (food/water, air, bodily fluids, etc.) of disease. The infectious diseases visitors were most interested in learning about were ebola, AIDS, and hepatitis; they were slightly less interested in giardia, Lyme disease, tuberculosis, plague, and leprosy.

Purpose: To investigate who is attracted to a women's health exhibit and what kinds of women's health exhibits would appeal to a diverse public

Methods: Tracking and two types of open-ended interviews at the Maryland Science Center, Baltimore

Findings: Visitors said they would be attracted to an exhibition on women's health and were in fact attracted to a prototype; both men and women visited, but women stayed longer. Topics of interest were those visitors perceived as having an immediate effect on them or those closest to them.